Happily Ever After, Juliet
by tsukikon
Summary: The age gap. The opposing family. The screams and the arguments. The perfect-guy-who-apparently-loved-her-since-the-beginning who she rejects. They seemed like the perfect obstacles for the two to meet and fall in love and finally have a happy ending. Oh, but if they only knew the true words behind "happily ever after". Sometimes, stories don't end when you want them to.
1. Chapter 1

The age gap. The opposing family. The poor girl and rich boy. Oh, the screams and the arguments. The elopement. The perfect-guy-who-apparently-loved-her-since-the-beginning who she rejects. They seemed like the perfect obstacles for the two to meet and fall in love and finally have a happy ending. At age 18, Amu Hinamori married Ikuto Tsukiyomi with the grudging acceptance of their parents. Oh, but if they only knew the true words behind "happily ever after". Sometimes, stories don't end when you want them to.

* * *

_"Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?"_

* * *

Amu's impression on the boy wasn't all too great but she fell hard for him anyways. That's right, his name, was Yumiki Otsukito

Everything he did was flawless. His eyes often glistened in the sunlight. He was beautiful-

"Hey, you do know you're saying all this out loud, right?"

And then there's this guy.

Amu stopped at her tracks and turned angrily at the boy who had interrupted her private moment.

"Ah, the tiger came out," the boy took a step back."If you keep making that face, you'll definitely give evidence to the public that your face really is a tomato. It must be difficult being a celebrity."

"Shut up," she replied. But true. You see, everyone seemed to enjoy comparing her face to something red like the tomato or the color blood (also often referencing to her period that she seemed to be having every other day in their sick minds) and she apparently has to be red all the time. "Yes, yes, and you're also a pervert," she said after a pause.

"It's because you called me a pervert."

"But you know, you're lucky, Tsukiyomi. You're done with high school," Amu yawned. "I wish I could be done too. Then I can meet Yumiki all the time-"

"Ah. I got it. Could it be that you're actually a nerdy otaku who has no friends?" Ikuto whipped out his iPad again.

"Stop." Amu frowned. He's never like this when she's with her friends. He's the cool, aloof person he was when she first met him.

"I'll say it bluntly that there's nothing special about getting out of high school," he said in a monotone way.

"Don't ruin my dreams." She felt like the only way she could escape the poverty was this way. Getting away. Running away, if that's the better phrase for it. But she didn't care. She was sick of this place. Her lack of money. The people. Her lack of money. Perhaps she was greedy and selfish and she only thought of herself. So what? She wanted to argue then, she's complaining, wishing that she would get out of this place because she knows she can't. College? Don't make her laugh. Who'll pay the tuition? Her own place? Like yea, right. She was stuck and she knew it. She just wanted to get away for a little awhile at least in her mind. She decided to change the subject.

"Remember, Tsukiyomi, that whole Shugo Chara thing is from the past! There's nothing between us, got it?" she said pointing to a random part of the sky. She had already said this a million times but she decided saying it one more time wouldn't hurt.

"That's not what this says," Ikuto replied scrolling the screen of the iPad with his fingers. "I seem to be traveling demon worlds, killing people, and doing all sorts of crazy stuff because I've fallen in love with you...and to create children." His eyebrows furrowed when he said the last part. "And we have lots to do with Romeo and Juliet too. That's depressing."

"Fanfiction," Amu grumbled. She suddenly heard the 5 minute warning bell. She jumped. Damn it, she ended up talking to this guy again. This always happens.

5 years ago, her mother had signed her up for an audition to get her a role in Shugo Chara!. All the actors and actresses had no experience so everyday was hectic. In the end, the acting thing got so bad that the directors gave up and just told them to be themselves. It somehow worked. It was a sleeper hit.

She would still be working on it now hadn't her mother discovered (like a year later) that Ikuto was part of the rivaling family, Tsukiyomi. Which, by the way, was about the same time Ikuto's mom found out about her and withdrew him too. About 80 percent of the girls dropped out soon afterwards. The next season was canceled. Amu is pretty sure that the director still has a grudge on her.

Well, she had to thank this project for allowing her to meet Yumiki for the first time.

Amu frowned. Too bad Ikuto never tried to unscramble.

**Y**u**mi**ki O**tsuki**t**o = Tsukiyomi**

**u, k, i, o, t** = **Ikuto**

* * *

This doesn't actually follow the set up of Romeo and Juliet (not a tragedy and Juliet's family was rich). There are good endings and there are endings that just seem to be way too convenient. I'm going to try to aim for the former.

Drop me a review (or PM if you prefer) on suggestions, mistakes if you see any, or anything really. I'll most likely reply. If you're interested on other stories that I wrote, there's always My Beautiful Neighbor that I still have my drafts piling up and Hidden Innocence which is a one-shot about Yaya giving her experience on becoming a woman ;)

Anyways, just review!


	2. Chapter 2

IMPORTANT: _ITALICS_ are usually flashbacks. **BOLD** is when it is Ikuto's POV

* * *

"Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs;  
Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes;  
Being vex'd a sea nourish'd with lovers' tears:  
What is it else? a madness most discreet,  
A choking gall and a preserving sweet"

* * *

Five Years Later

Amu could feel her hands sting. They have been doing that for as long as she could remember but they hadn't been this bad until the last three years. Her hands told her story. Amu closed her eyes as she heard the clock tick nearby.

Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock!

It was getting annoying but she didn't want to open her eyes. She knew that if she did, she would have to confront her cruel, harsh reality-

"Hey, woman, are you deaf? You're in the _police office_ so now confess!" Amu reluctantly opened her eyes. She saw her hands again. They were completely red, full of angry boils, cuts, and burns. A person who had once been a queen of fashion and beauty, she flinched at the sight of them. She worked at her uncle's restaurant when she was a child so her hands had never been smooth and pretty as she wanted them to be but this…

It's all HIS fault. That bastard. She'll never forgive him.

Sure, things were at first all peaceful and happy. When she and THAT man married, they were invincible.

_"We may be two people but we always work as a team, forever and ever!"_ God, what a cheesy thing to say. Looking back, Amu couldn't believe she actually said something like that.

_"Eeh, I heard that your husband got a promotion at a record time! Your husband must be incredible! He's doing so successfully in the company Easter!" her newly found, rich friends giggled. Amu smiled and beamed with pride._ Yes, he was amazing. He was. Ikuto Tsukiyomi was incredibly skilled in many things and Amu knew that. Since the first time she had met him in the Shugo Chara! cast, she knew that he had been amazing, teasing, and ambitious and she was determined to stay with him till the end.

So, God, what did I do wrong?

"Answer me, woman, did you hit that man with a chicken leg?" the police officer demanded as he pointed to the man with a giant bruise on his forehead. Amu refused to look. Um, of course she hit that idiot with the chicken leg. She hated this guy almost as much as she hated THAT man at the moment.

_"What!? You quit your job?" _

_"I'm following my dream, Amu! I want to be a violinist and simply more than just a teacher! I want to open a company that'll allow people to connect."_

_"Honey! Trust me, my family has been through lots of this entrepreneur thing and bankruptcy. Who has money on their hands?"_

_"Sorry, Amu but I need to do this to live."_

Amu scoffed at the memory. What about Amu? Does she need to live? Her insides were burning with anger.

She had 6 jobs when she was with him. Two of her jobs were restaurants where she spent most of her hours scrubbing hundreds of dishes and burning herself on the stove as she was bustled as if she was a trash around the kitchen. Another two were advertising in which she would be forced to go to different companies and literally stand there yelling at the top of her lungs about a product that was probably a scam until security guards dragged her away. The last two would change between going to houses and getting her hands and knees and cleaning the floors of apartments and becoming a janitor of some company. She worked a total of 13 hours every single day only to come back every day and find Ikuto apologizing that the business was bankrupt.

"OI!? YOU HEAR ME?" this time a kick of the chair from the "victim." "You just freakin' hit my face!" Amu wished she had hit him harder.

"And…like…I…said…YOU PICKED A FIGHT FIRST!" Her teeth gritted. She jumped up ready to smack this person.

"Amu…" It was Yaya with a great worried concern as she nodded toward the police officer who was eyeing her as if she was a murder. The man, must have felt brazen as he tossed his head a bit before saying in an innocent voice, "My friends and I were just having a drink and saying things completely unrelated-"

"UNRELATED MY ASS!" Her golden eyes enlarged. They perhaps once twinkled with kindess but now they only shined with full of hatred.

_"Hey, did you hear that the rich and successful CEO of the company was married to a total bitch?" The speaker later to be known as the "victim" gave a stupid grin as Amu watched him from the distance. She just had one of her worst days, "BAD DAY" she'll remember it so she didn't want to hear the story that the man was about to tell but she wanted to eat her chicken and moving seemed to be too much work. The chicken restaurant was also small._

_ "Wait..Wait, which CEO are we talking about?" one of his friends asked._

_ "Ikuto Tsukiyomi!" Amu froze. So that bastard…was successful…? Ikuto…became rich? She suddenly noticed a magazine that one of them was holding that had a picture of HIM. She had never checked those magazines. Her work. Her support._

_ "Oh yea, I heard it was incredible. Like he really started from the bottom and just worked hard and he's where he is now! He's not just well-off but he's incredibly wealthy. Like people are talking that he'll make it to Forbe's wealthiest list this year!"_

_ "Yea, him! Well I heard that his wife was a complete couch potato. All she did was drink and gamble and made her husband work all day long and when he didn't bring enough money, she would hit him."_

_ "Ah, this society seems to be so central to women abused by their husbands! What about men! We're pushed around that too! It was a good thing that he divorced! I hope that woman is suffering-" CRASH! The chicken leg hit its target. _

"I picked a fight with you first?" the "victim" screeched. "Who are you? Are you the ex-wife, HUH? ARE YOU THE EX-WIFE OF IKUTO TSUKIYOMI?"

Amu snapped. "YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT I AM!"

* * *

"Mr. Tsukiyomi, there must have been someone who has helped you reached the top," the newsreporter said with a sparkling eyes as she tilted the megaphone towards him. He smirked.

**"There was."**

_There was a blizzard outside, he could barely feel his fingers as he pressed the password for his house. It didn't work. He called his wife like any sensible person would do._

_ "Amu? The password doesn't work-"_

_ "It shouldn't."_

_ "What?"_

_ "This is your tenth time your business failed. Don't come back until you get the money back."_

_ "Amu, there's a blizzard!" She had already hung up. _

**"This person allowed me to adapt to a difficult environment."**

_"You…you don't have a right to eat!" She snatched the bowl of food away from him and smashed it to the floor. She no longer slept together and some days she hardly spoke to him. Those became the better days._

**"This person made me understand the feeling of loneliness of a person who was close."**

_The piles of paper slammed on the desk. They were divorce papers._

_"Amu, you don't have to do this. I'm sorry! This time, something will work better, something-"_

_"Shut up! Don't give me that sort of excuse!"_

_"Please, Amu. Amu, remember? Remember when we said we were a team? Amu-"_

_"No. We're not. We're only a team when you are worth something."_

**"And finally, this person allowed me to truly realize that a person you love can really turn into someone that you hate. This person had been my motivation for success. I wanted to see this person's face when I reached the top of the ladder."**

* * *

"HE-"

**"She-"**

"HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST PROBLEM OF MY LIFE!"

**"has been the biggest problem of my life!"**

* * *

Recently read Skip Beat! and missed the whole "conquering" atmosphere.

Honestly, though I hate saying this, I'm sort of reluctant in continuing this. It's really difficult to tell if you guys enjoyed this at all without an indication whether it is a favorite/follow/review. I spend quite a bit of time on these so if it's for people to just click the title for fun and then return to Facebook, I don't think I'll feel motivated.

So please, review/favorite/follow if you liked this story!


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